Also known as pirate’s dice, liar’s dice is a fun game to play with 2 or more people. With a little bit of deception and a lot of luck, you’ll try your hand at being crowned the best liar of the bunch. Switch it up each time you play with one of the different variations.

Hand each player 5 dice along with a dice cup. They'll use the dice cup to shake the 5 dice and roll them at the beginning of each round. If you don't have a dice cup, you can use an opaque drinking cup.

Have everyone roll their 5 dice at the same time, keeping them hidden. While you can (and should) look at your own dice, you should make sure no one else can see yours. You can do this by flipping the dice cup on top of your dice and lifting it so that only you can see the dice.

Let the first player guess how many total of one dice face were rolled. This is the total between all the dice on the table. They’ll make a bet out loud that includes a dice face along with the quantity they believe were rolled by the other players.

For example, they might say “7 3’s” which means they think there are 7 dice on the table with a “3” face up.

Allow the other players to challenge the bet or make a new one. Starting with the player to the left of the first player, each player can make a new bet. It has to be either a higher quantity of the same face (like 9 “3’s” instead of 7 “3’s”) or the same quantity with a higher face (like 7 “4’s” instead of 7 “3’s”).[2]XResearch source

There are many variations of betting rules. You can also allow betting a higher quantity of any face or any quantity of a higher face.

Some variations consider “1’s” to be wild, meaning it can be any value. However, if “1’s” get called in the first round, it is no longer wild and must only be a “1” for the rest of the game.[3]XResearch source

Continue around the table making new bets until there's a challenge. You can go around the table as many times as it takes for someone to challenge a bet. The only bet that matters is the last one spoken.

If you have a lot of players, you don't have to worry about writing down previous bets. You just need to keep track of the most recent bet.

Reveal all the players’ dice when a player challenges a bet. By challenging the player before them, they’re calling their bluff (essentially saying they don’t think the player’s bet was correct). Have all the players uncover their dice. If the player who challenged the bet was right, the player who made the bet has lost the round. They must remove one die from their cup and set it aside.[4]XResearch source

If the player who made the challenge was wrong and the player before them got their bet right, the challenger removes one die from their cup.

Repeat rounds until there’s only one player with dice left. This is the winner of the game. If, however, you get to the point where there are 2 players left, each with only 1 die, you bet on the sum of the 2 die instead of the quantity of faces.[5]XResearch source

Roll the 5 poker dice all at once, keeping them hidden. Only you should look at the results of your roll. Some sort of box or divider can come in handy here to make sure your opponent can’t see your dice.

Announce the poker hand you rolled or are pretending to have rolled. This can be the truth or it can be a lie - it’s up to how you want to play it. There are 8 different poker dice hands you can choose from.[6]XResearch source Here they are, in order from highest-ranking to lowest-ranking:

Allow the other player a chance to challenge your hand. If they challenge your hand, reveal your dice. If your opponent was correct (and your hand is lower than what you announced), you put a poker chip in the center of the table.

If your opponent was wrong (and you were not bluffing), they put in a poker chip.[7]XResearch source

Pass the dice to your opponent if no challenge is made. If the other player accepts your hand, pass the dice to them. They can roll however many they’d like. For example, they can keep 3 of the dice the way you rolled them and just reroll 2 if they want.[8]XResearch source

Regardless of the number of dice they choose to roll, they should keep them hidden from you.

The player cannot lie about how many dice are being rolled, however. If they roll 2 dice, they cannot say they are rolling 3.

Have the other player roll the dice and announce a higher poker hand. They can roll however many they’d like. For example, they can keep 3 of the dice the way you rolled them and just reroll 2 if they want.[9]XResearch source

Regardless of the number of dice they choose to roll, they should keep them hidden from you.

The player cannot lie about how many dice are being rolled, however. If they roll 2 dice, they cannot say they are rolling 3.

The new hand cannot be lower than what you announced.[10]XResearch source So if you had called a low straight, they could not call 3 of a kind since it’s lower.

Challenge or accept your opponent’s announcement. If you challenge it, they’ll reveal the dice, examine the results, and the loser of the challenge will toss in a poker chip again. If you accept it, the rounds continue until someone challenges the other’s hand.[11]XResearch source

No. As long as there are at least that number of dice on the board, the challenged person keeps their dice. It's worth noting, however, that some rules allow you to declare a bid "spot on," and if the exact number of dice of that value are on the board, the challenged player loses a die. If not, the challenger loses one.

If the person who loses goes again, how many times can they go if they keep on losing?

Community Answer

Assuming you mean Method one, then they go until they are out of dice. Every time you lose a challenge, whether you be the challenger or the challengee, you lose a die. If you are referring to Method two, then they go until they are out of poker chips.

The aim of Liar's Dice is to be the last player with a die. To start the game, have each player roll 5 dice inside a plastic cup. Then, lift up the side of your cup so only you can see your dice. Next, have the first player guess how many dice there are of one number. For example, you might bet that there are 7 dice on the table with a 4 face up. Go around clockwise with each player either making a bet with a new number, or raising the number of dice another person has bet. For example, someone might bet that there are 9 dice with a 4 face up instead of 7. Keep going until someone thinks a bet is unrealistic and calls "liar”. Then, have everyone lift their cups, so you can count the dice with the given number. If the person who called “liar” was wrong, they lose a die from their cup. However, if they were right, the player who made the bet loses a die. Start the next round with the loser and keep going until there is only one die left. For more tips, including how to play liar’s dice with only 2 players, read on!